Caroline Bugler is intrigued by an exhibition that reveals the shadier side of women’s lives in Georgian England
THIS select group of paintings by Joseph Highmore (1692–1780) lifts the veil on the darker aspects of love and sex in Georgian London, starting with the pleasures of family life and friendship before moving swiftly onto seduction, assault and attempted infanticide.
Highmore had seen it all in his role as a governor of the Foundling Hospital, the children’s home established in 1739 by Thomas Coram, a kindly former navy captain, who was shocked by the sight of abandoned and suffering babies on London’s streets and wanted to help them and their desperate mothers. Most infants were admitted to his hospital not because they were orphans, but because they were born out of wedlock and their mothers had no means of supporting them.
Highmore was profoundly moved by the plight of women forced to surrender their children and much of his mature work explores their vulnerability and society’s attitudes towards them.
Curated by Jacqueline Riding, this is the first major exhibition of Highmore’s work for more than 50 years and it brings the artist out from the shadow of William Hogarth, his more famous contemporary and fellow Foundling governor. Highmore’s reputation declined after his death and his works were frequently misattributed to his better-known friend, but two superb conver sation pieces, Mr Oldham and his Guests and The Vigor Family, show how well he could convey a speaking likeness and observe the nuances of social interraction.
This story is from the November 22, 2017 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 22, 2017 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
